“Land PLU (Local urban planning, Editor’s note)) still interests a lot of people”confided Danielle Adoux-Copin, deputy delegate for urban planning, ecological and solidarity transition for the city of Draguignan. The elected official could not have been more right. The night before last, the Saint-Exupéry complex welcomed a hundred Dracénois, curious to know “the premises” of the future revision of the town planning document, which will decide how their municipality will be developed over the next fifteen years.
For the moment, it is impossible to provide the regulatory details of this revision: “It’s still too early”confirms Camille Le Floch, member of Planèd, the study company responsible for developing the PLU.
For this, we will have to wait until the end of 2025, at the very least. However, major themes were addressed, such as the problem of housing, access to drinking water, and the attractiveness of Draguignan.
Enough to lay the first milestones: “It’s an adventure that’s starting.” Here are the points that Var-matin retained.
1. Young people disinterested in Draguignan?
No less than 237 young people (11-25 years old) presented their vision of the City of the Dragon, in a questionnaire published on the City’s website. And the results did not fail to make the assembly react: “45% of them plan to leave the town”sums up Jason Cazaurang, planning project manager at Planèd. Although young people find the city “calm”, “peaceful”, “pleasant” – and the majority carry out their sporting and leisure activities on site, the other side of the coin is nevertheless there: “monotone”, “boring”Draguignan is also felt as a commune “too mineral” – lacking islands of freshness and plants –, where “insecurity” would be present. “Of course, 237 young people is not a faithful representation of this population, but these remarks must be taken into account for the future PLU”shade Camille Le Floch. “Leaving does not mean hating your city, other parameters come into play, such as access to housing and shops”argues a participant.
Questions that the Municipal Youth Council (CMJ) will have to explore at the start of the school year.
2. Artificialization, this “puzzle”
Since 2021, the Climate and Resilience law, via its Zero Net Artificialization (ZAN), requires that in 2031, the artificialization of land must have been reduced by 50%, then 100% in 2050.
“The counters are already ticking”underlines Camille Le Floch. Regarding housing, particularly individual housing, “Arbitrations will have to be made to build or not”. A question far from simple to resolve: “We still don’t have a clear definition of the term ‘artificialisation’, lawyers are racking their brains over the decrees, a new one coming out every three to four months. We are sailing in a dark world.”
Hence the importance of this revision of the PLU to limit the expansion of urbanization. “It is necessary to specify that construction or other projects are only a small part of all the requests that we receive at the town planning department. We are refusing a majority of them, and reducing the scale of many of them. others”, says Danielle Adoux-Copin, in response to a speaker seeing Draguignan as “a concert of cranes”.
Furthermore, “possibilities of suspension of proceedings” will begin to emerge as the finalization of the PLU revision approaches: “Or the right to refuse projects that contravene future rules.”
3. Water, the city’s main axis
“What is the municipality’s direction on the future PLU?”, we simply ask. A question “relevant” recovered by Grégory Loew: “Water is one of the main reasons, today, for this revision: we were on the verge of a cutoff in the summer of 2023he warned. It was the work on Les Frayères and other sources that allowed access to the resource.” Also mentioning the problem of runoff, and the need to protect natural and agricultural areas.
4. What do the people of Dracé think of their town?
During the meeting, the Dracénois were asked to answer a short questionnaire to gauge their opinions on: “how to make Draguignan more attractive?” Shops and public facilities came out on top. “attractiveness factors to be strengthened”followed by the landscape.
The development of soft mobility such as cycling and the place of nature in the city are also among the concerns of residents, who, by their own admission, do not find their town very attractive.
In the context of housing construction, several options are favored: transforming the use of old buildings, rehabilitating vacant or unsanitary housing, or rebuilding on already built spaces.
Reluctance was felt on the part “build taller buildings to create natural spaces in the city”. The main one being “to integrate housing into the environment”that they are comfortable and “close to amenities and shops”.
